Jimuel Pacquiao on joining show biz: I can be outside the shadow of my dad for the 1st time

Jimuel Pacquiao

“[In this field], I’m on my own. I get to make a name for myself now,” said teen celebrity Jimuel Pacquiao, who some two years ago said he had no plans of joining show biz and would rather focus on his boxing career.

Jimuel recently signed up with ABS-CBN’s Star Magic, which eventually launched him as one of the members of the group Squad Plus. He claimed his father, boxing icon and Sen. Manny Pacquiao, and mom, Jinkee, are very supportive of this move.

“If they were to choose between the two fields, they’d choose show biz because they don’t like me to get into boxing,” said the 19-year-old. “They made sure in the beginning that I really wanted to go into this business because it’s very taxing especially schedule-wise.”

Time Management

When asked how pressured he was to do well and to live up to the family name, Jimuel said: “I think the pressure is always there, even when I’m doing boxing. It’s unavoidable to be compared to my dad. I also know that a lot of eyes are focused on our family now. I take it as a challenge.”

“At first, I was nervous. I’m a newbie in this industry,” he admitted. “However, I’m very thankful for the support of people. I’ve discovered that I now have a few fan pages. I found this very unusual, but it felt good to know that I have supporters out there.”

He is currently attending workshops to prepare himself for upcoming TV and film exposures. “As to what I can offer, I think it’s just by being myself and trying my best in everything I do. I’m not here to copy my dad. I’m just here to do my own thing, to make my own name,” Jimuel declared. “I’m very thankful that in show biz, I can be outside the shadow of my dad for the first time. I’m very happy.”

Is being part of a love team something that he also wants to dip his fingers into? “It’s not really one of the things I like,” Jimuel said. “I want to be versatile.”

Jimuel also said he still wouldn’t give up boxing. “It’s just a matter of time management,” he explained.

“These days, I only have school, boxing and show biz. Since everything is online, I expect that schedule will be a little bit flexible. It will be easier to manage,” he added.

Asked what the best advice his parents gave him, Jimuel replied: “Glorify God in everything you do. Everything will follow if you just focus on God. They also advised me to always be passionate about what I do at the moment.”